Sunday, February 14, 2016

Predictors of Residential Stability among Homeless Young Adults

Background

Homelessness episodes
have been shown to be associated with serious health outcomes among youth. This
study was undertaken to estimate the probability of reaching residential
stability over time and to identify predictors of residential stability among
homeless young adults aged 18 to 25 years.

Methods

A prospective cohort
study was carried out in Montréal, Canada, between April 5th2006 and January 21th2009. Interviews
conducted every three months included questions on life conditions and social
and mental health factors that are known to influence residential trajectories.
Residential status was determined, starting on the first day after recruitment;
each follow-up day was classified as a homeless day or a housed day. A period
of 90 days was used to define residential stability; therefore the main
study outcome was the occurrence of the first consecutive 90 housed days during
the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional-hazards regression
analyses were conducted.

Results

Of the 359 participants,
284 reached 90 days of residential stability over the study period,
representing an annual probability of 80.5 %. In multivariate analysis,
youth who had a high school degree, had a formal sector activity, and those who
had sought psychological help were more likely to reach residential stability.
Being a man, injecting substances, and having an informal sector activity were
associated with a decreased probability to reach residential stability.

Conclusion

Exposure to factors
related to opportunities that promote social integration increases the chance
of reaching residential stability. On the other hand, factors related to high
level of street entrenchment seem to interfere with stabilization. Maximum
efforts should be made to prevent chronic homelessness among youth, targeting
not only individual impairments but also hinging on services adapted to foster
social connections among the youth.

Below: Cumulative probability to reach a housed status for 90 consecutive days during follow-up